The secrets of the map
by MandyAnn
Summary: After the war Harry pulls out the marauders map. He's not sure, but he has a haunting idea that he may be able to talk to the marauders again. And of course, even in death, they act like children. NEW CHAPTER. TEDDY SEES THE MAP.
1. Chapter 1

Harry stared down at the Marauders map, or what would be the marauders map, if he chose to speak the incantation. He hadn't given any thought to it in quite a while. He was done at Hogwarts, and had no further use for it. That is, until he got an idea.

In Harry's third year Snape had tried to reveal what was on the map and the words of Moony Wormtail Padfoot and Prongs had appeared on the paper. He took a deep breathe and sat comfortably on his bed, of number 12 Grimmauld place, in the scarlet and gold clad room that used to belong to his godfather.

"Reveal your secrets!" Harry said, tapping his wand to the parchment and feeling quite stupid. He waited a few moments, sure he had failed.

_Mr. Moony wonders why Mr. Harry Potter is trying to reveal the secrets of this map, when he already knows them. _

_Mr. Prongs agrees, but insists that Mr. Moony be a bit more polite to his son. _

_Mr. Padfoot insists that Mr. Moony, and Mr. Prongs are both idiots. He would like to add that it is clear that Mr. Harry Potter is trying to contact his family. _

_Mr. Prongs would smack Mr. Padfoot over the back of his head, if he was not dead. _

_Mr. Moony wonders what Mr. Potter must think of his father and godfather, squabbling like children. _

_Mr. Padfoot believes that Mr. Moony's continued habit of thinking too much was no helped by the fact that he died the oldest. _

_Mr. Moony is not old. _

_Mr. Prongs would like to express from the opinion of someone who died at age 21, dying old is not a bad thing. _

Harry stared hard at the piece of parchment. Were the marauders really off in some other dimension arguing like 10 year olds? No, rhetorical question, of course they were. He wondered how long the parchment would continue to clear and refill itself.

_Mr. Moony would like to remind his good friends that Mr. Harry Potter is still watching us. _

_Mr. Padfoot forgot. _

_Mr. Prongs would like to register his astonishment that Mr. Padfoot lived to be 35 with such a remarkably low amount of brain power. _

_Mr. Prongs would also like to tell his one and only beloved son that he is unbelievably proud, and to assure him that even though Mr. Prongs cannot be present, he loves young Harry very much._

_Mr. Padfoot would like to have it known as well, that his godson brightened the last years of his life, more than any one else could have possibly managed. _

_Mr. Moony believes that his favorite student realizes how much he cares and hopes that Harry is not having too much difficulty with Teddy. _

_Mr. Prongs believes that any son of Mr. Moony's is very likely to spend all his time reading. _

_Mr. Padfoot misses eating. _

Harry couldn't stop himself from laughing, even as tears pricked at the corners of his eyes. As much as he missed Sirius and Lupin, and wished he could have known his father, he knew that they all belonged together – wherever they were.

"Bye Dad…Sirius…Lupin…" Harry mumbled, and touched his wand to the parchment.

"_Mischief managed_."

He choked on those last words. The page wiped itself clean and Moony Padfoot and Prongs were once again, only memories. In that moment Harry swore to himself that when Teddy was old enough, he'd get to see this lasting imprint of the famous marauders. He held the map close to his chest, and doubled over with the effort to fight the tears.

**A/N: Very quick fanfic in which Harry gets another chance to meet the marauders. Random idea I had while rereading Order of the Phoenix. **


	2. Teddy

**Back for another chapter. Teddy sees the map. This one is rather sad, unfortunately. It was more difficult to write, as Teddy technically didn't know any of them. I tried to throw in a few funny lines, but overall, it's very sad. And short. So be prepared.**

"Teddy, come up, I need to show you something." Harry called downstairs, interrupting a game of exploding snap. He could have been polite and waited for their game to end, but he had been trying to decide when to show the Marauders Map to Teddy for years, and upon finally deciding the time was right, he wouldn't waste a minute.

Teddy, having just turned seventeen, had handsome features like his father and his hair was light blue with content, a memory of his mother. He came up the stairs, and followed Harry into the study.

"Yeah?"

"Sit down." Teddy obeyed, and Harry pulled out the map. "I've told you, your father and my father were friends at Hogwarts, along with my Godfather and..." He didn't want to say it.

"And the traitor, yeah." Teddy said sadly. He didn't like when Harry started serious conversations like this, sure he wanted to know about his family, but it hurt.

"They made a map." Harry started, holding up the blank parchment. "When they were in Hogwarts. A magic map. With imprints of their personalities." He put the map on Teddy's lap and sat on the arm of the recliner.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." He said, holding his wand to the page. Teddy's eyes went wide as the halls of Hogwarts appeared. "Now." Harry said "Hold your wand to it, and say 'Reveal your secrets'" Teddy obeyed again, and the map cleared away, words scrolled over the page.

_Mssr Moony is delighted to see his son _

_Mssr Padfoot is amazed to see that Teddy Lupin isn't a know-it-all like his father. _

Teddy's mouth hung open. "Mssr. Moony...That's my Dad?"

"yeah." Harry said softly. "Padfoot is my Godfather, Sirius and -"

_Mssr. Prongs is also delighted to see his son, and is very proud to see what a fantastic Godfather he is to young Teddy. _

"That's my Dad." Harry added.

_Mssr Padfoot would like to make it clear that Harry Potter learned from the best in the field of Godfathering. _

_Mssr Moony wants Teddy to know how proud he is. And wants Mssr Padfoot to know how much of a prat he is. _

"Can he like - hear me?" Teddy asked.

"I think so, I don't know."

"Dad? Why did you have to go?" A tear fell on the page and was immediately wiped away.

_Mssr Moony is extremely sorry to have left you. He wanted a world in which you could live safely. Though dare I say, you owe that more to your Godfather than anyone. _

"It's okay." Teddy said, and he wiped his eyes on his sleeve.

_Mssr Moony would like to assert that it is not okay. No boy should have to grow up with out his parents. My deepest appologies could never be enough. _

"I don't even know what you were like."

_Mssr Padfoot would like to point out that Teddy's father was the brains behind a map that activates at the words 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good' as he thinks that says rather a lot about his character._

_Mssr Prongs thinks it is more accurate to point out that Mssr Moony died fighting for what was right. That says rather a lot more. _

_Mssr Moony wants you to know that he loves you. Both of you._

Harry's cheeks flushed a bit, as Lupin had never been that openly affectionate, though he supposed that in death, one's emotional walls are likely to crumble.

_Mssr Moony would also like Teddy to know that his mother was a beautiful kind and amazing woman. And that he wishes you could speak to her like this. _

"Were you scared..." Teddy started. Harry knew where this was going. "Were you scared that I'd be - like you?"

_Mssr Moony admits that the thought plagued him through much of the second war. He is ashamed to say that upon finding that your mother was pregnant he was gripped with unimaginable terror. _

"What if I was? What would happen?"

_Mssr Padfoot knows that everyone would still love Teddy Lupin, as Teddy is surrounded by remarkably kind people such as Harry Potter. _

_Mssr Moony agrees with Mr. Padfoot, as Harry Potter was fiercely loyal to him as a professor, even upon learning of his condition. _

"I love you Dad." Teddy choked. "I want you to be here."

_Mssr Moony would love nothing more than to spend even just a day with his son. _

_Mssr Prongs has the same wish _

"We'll all be together one day." Harry promised, wrapping an arm around Teddy's shoulder. "All of us." 

_Mssr Moony is at a loss for words concerning how grateful he is to Harry Potter. _

"S'alright Remus." Harry said.

"Bye Dad." Teddy said, unprompted, Harry took that as a sign that he couldn't take it any more. He touched his wand to the paper "Mischief managed." He whispered, and once again the map was nothing but blank parchment. Teddy sat very still staring at it for a moment, and Harry said nothing. Then, without warning, Teddy leaned into Harry, into the crook of his neck and sobbed.

"It's not fair!" He said.

"I know." Harry said. "I know."

"H-he never got to be h-happy." Teddy sobbed.

"Now that's not true." Harry said, he moved away from Teddy's embrace and sat on the floor in front of the chair, taking Teddy's hands in his and looking him straight in the eyes.

"Your Dad - When he was at school, he was _so_ happy. You have no idea. When he married your mum...He had many happy times."

"B-but, he was always afraid, wasn't he? Of infecting someone, of people finding out?"

"He was." Harry conceded. "But he was happy. He was a brilliant man who didn't deserve what life gave him. But you know what?"

"Wh-what?"

"I reckon wherever he is now, he's happy to see that his son grew up into a brilliant wizard like him. One who didn't have lycanthropy, and could live freely, and in a world without war. Wherever he is now, I know he's happy. Because he loves you."


End file.
